EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 and the implications for machine builders and system integrators

If you are a machine builder or system integrator, you need to be aware of the new EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 that entered into force on 17 August 2023 and has been applied since 18 February 2024. This will not affect every machine builder and system integrator but read on to find out if the new regulation applies to you and, if so, what the implications are.

The EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 (EU BR) applies when batteries are placed on the market or put into service in the EU and other states that have adopted EU product regulations. However, it is possible that similar legislation could be enacted in the UK in the future.

Although the EU BR repeals Battery Directive 2006/66/EC, it does not do so until 18 August 2025. Furthermore, some parts of the old Directive remain in force until specific dates in 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Directive 2006/66/EC has been credited with improving the environmental performance of batteries. Building on this, the new EU BR aims to improve the green credentials of batteries throughout their entire lifecycle, which includes recycling. As well as preventing environmental pollution, recycling recovers scarce materials that would otherwise have to be imported from outside the EU.

Battery categories

The scope of the EU BR includes all categories of battery placed on the market or put into service within the EU, with various requirements and deadlines for each category. However, the EU BR is largely ‘technology agnostic’ in that it does not set out different rules for each battery chemistry.

As well as covering the supply of batteries on their own, the EU BR also covers batteries that are incorporated within other products, including machinery. For machine builders and system integrators (SIs), the main areas of interest in the EU BR will be those relating to ‘industrial batteries’ and ‘portable batteries’ including ‘general use’ types such as button cells, D, C, AA, AAA and PP3 batteries. For completeness, the other battery categories in the EU BR are EV (electric vehicle) batteries, vehicle SLI (starting, light and ignition) batteries, and LMT (light means of transport) batteries.

Note that a ‘portable battery’ is defined as being sealed, weighing less than 5 kg, not designed specifically for industrial use, and not an EV, SLI or LMT battery. If another type of battery has been repurposed for industrial usage, it becomes an ‘industrial battery’.

Batteries incorporated in machinery

In this article, we are assuming that machine builders and SIs are incorporating industrial and/or portable batteries within the products they sell. We are not considering the design, manufacture or processing of new or used batteries, just the incorporation of bought-in batteries within machinery. Although machine builders and SIs will most likely procure such batteries from manufacturers or distributors, because machine builders or SIs incorporate them in their own products, the EU BR considers them to be ‘producers’.

Note that the EU BR has various exclusions, such as batteries for use in defence or space applications.

Buying batteries

Machine builders and SIs need to know what to look for when purchasing batteries to incorporate in machinery. For compliance with the new EU BR, batteries need to be CE marked and, space permitting, include certain information on the label (eg manufacturer, battery category, place and date of manufacture, capacity, chemistry, hazardous content, etc). Batteries must also be accompanied by a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) referring to Regulation 2023/1542. However, the labelling requirements do not come into force until 18 August 2025, with additional requirements from 18 August 2026.

From 18 February 2027, industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh are required to display a QR code that provides access to the battery passport, which will be created by the original manufacturer (not the machine builder or SI incorporating the battery within their product). Responsibility for the battery’s passport lies with the economic operator placing the battery on the market, though it should be updated after it has been remanufactured or repurposed. Although a machine builder or SI might want to view the battery passport, it is unlikely that they will need to update or modify it. The passport includes the information displayed on the battery’s label, plus more detailed information relating to its manufacture and recycling. Not all parts of the passport are publicly accessible.

Until the marking requirements come into force, buyers of batteries should check for a Declaration of Conformity showing compliance with EU BR 2023/1542. Since 18 August 2024, rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh must also be accompanied by a document containing values for the electrochemical performance and durability parameters.

Portable batteries

Requirements relating to portable batteries for general use are, for the time being, less stringent. The Regulation’s main emphasis for these batteries is on removability, replaceability and recycling rates. From August 2026, rechargeable batteries shall be labelled with their capacity, while non-rechargeable batteries shall bear a label containing information on their minimum average duration when used in specific applications and be marked ‘non-rechargeable’. Minimum performance and durability requirements come into force in 2028.

Much of Regulation 2023/1542 lays down rules for battery manufacturers and those who process used batteries for reuse or repurposing. These sections of the EU BR will not be of interest to machine builders and SIs. Furthermore, the rules relating to due diligence policies only apply to economic operators with an annual turnover in excess of €40 million, so the majority of machine builders and SIs need not prepare due diligence policies.

Machine builder and SI obligations

Machine builders and SIs exporting to the EU need to comply with a number of EU BR rules and requirements. First, the ‘producer’ (which includes machine builders or SIs incorporating batteries within their products) must register with the relevant competent authority in each member state where they are selling products.

Next, the producer must prepare a Declaration of Conformity (DoC). The DoC must be translated into the language of the member state in which the product is placed on the market; it shall be drawn up in electronic format but must be provided in paper format upon request. However, if a product is subject to more than one EU act requiring a DoC, then one DoC shall be drawn up listing all the relevant acts complied with. For example, a machine DoC relating to the Machinery Directive (or, from January 2027, the new Machinery Regulation) should incorporate the EU BR DoC.

Since 18 August 2024, rechargeable industrial batteries with a capacity greater than 2 kWh (and LMT and EV batteries) must be accompanied by a document containing values for the electrochemical performance and durability parameters.

Another requirement is that if a product incorporates portable batteries, it must be accompanied by instructions and safety information relating to the use, removal and replacement of the batteries. The instructions and safety information must also be available permanently online on a publicly available website.

There are various requirements relating to documentation that come into force at different dates in the coming years. For machine builders and SIs incorporating standard industrial batteries, it will be a matter of collating the documentation from the battery supplier and adding it to the technical documentation for the batteries (as part of the machine’s technical documentation). Examples of battery documentation for rechargeable industrial batteries >2 kWh are: carbon footprint declaration from 2026; carbon footprint performance class from 2027; and maximum life cycle carbon footprint threshold from 2029.

Take back and collection

Under the new EU BR, producers must put in place a take back and collection system and inform end users of the arrangements when batteries are ordered. Producers of industrial batteries (and SLI and EV batteries) are required to accept and take back from end-users, free of charge, all waste batteries for their respective category. Note that this obligation to take back batteries is not restricted to batteries that producers have sold to customers, and it is regardless of the battery’s brand, chemical composition or condition.

As an alternative, the EU BR permits producers to join a take back scheme operated by an appropriate producer responsibility organisation – and this is likely to be a better option for most machine builders and SIs. Waste industrial batteries that have been collected can either be passed to the producer responsibility organisation or handed back to the producer.

Regardless of whether a machine builder or SI joins a producer responsibility organisation, they must report annually on the numbers of batteries sold and collected, and what has happened to them (eg handed back or processed for repurposing).

Waste portable batteries must also be collected. However, given the prevalence of portable batteries, it is most likely that machine builders and SIs can fulfil their obligations via a producer responsibility organisation. Nevertheless, producers are obliged to report annually on the numbers of batteries sold and collected.

Economic operators

In line with the EU’s New Legislative Framework (NLF), the EU BR covers the roles and responsibilities of economic operators. Of particular interest to machine builders and SIs will be EU authorised representatives (EUARs), who can be mandated to perform certain tasks on behalf of the producer. As a minimum, the mandate must cover the following: retention of the DoC, technical documentation, verification report, approval decision and audit reports for at least ten years; provision of information and documentation requested by national authorities; and co-operation with national authorities on action taken to eliminate risks posed by batteries covered by the mandate. Furthermore, where batteries present a risk, EUARs are obliged to notify the market surveillance authorities immediately.

Hold Tech Files Ltd is based in the Republic of Ireland and can act as an EUAR for machine builders and SIs located outside the EU. The company operates a self-service online portal where customers can sign a mandate, pay a fee and upload relevant files to a secure server. Hold Tech Files then reviews the documentation and, if acceptable, sends the customer a report stating that the company is prepared to act as an EUAR. This entitles the customer to name Hold Tech Files on the DoC. Customers can choose to pay for ten years or annually.

For more information, go to www.holdtechfiles.eu or email  derek@holdtechfiles.eu